TRYING to sell your car via online trading sites can be a chastening experience, particularly if you have an aversion to time wasters.

A new website established by car dealership Mooney’s, was created to tap into that niche and provide customers with the option of receiving cash for their car.

Autobuy.ie was launched in April and links car sellers to Mooney’s dealerships on Long Mile Road and Deansgrange.

Although Mooney’s have been providing some form of cash for cars scheme since 2009, Director Mark Mooney said the time was right to take the next step.

“Due to a number of different reasons, including copycats, we decided to change the name of the scheme, copyright it, and branch out as a franchise.”

Mooney’s invested significantly to develop Autobuy, and plan to invest a further €10-15k as the site grows.

“We are close to appointing authorised Autobuy dealerships in Cork and Galway, and the goal is to have 10 dealerships around the country by 2019,” said Mark.

Customers who want to sell their car, log onto the site, answer a few questions and receive a quote.

They then have the option to book an appointment with a local Autobuy representative, where the two parties can agree on a revised offer.

Bypassing murky online waters is a plus for customers.

“From a customer point of view, it puts their mind at ease,” said Mark.

“If they are reasonably happy with their quote on Autobuy, they can come down to see us. The site will direct customers to their nearest dealership. We have been getting a lot of interest from Cork and Galway.

“We can supply scrap, take old cars, or if it is a new one-year car on a finance deal, we can settle it and take care of the paperwork. It takes care of the inconvenience.

"People don’t get time to sell, and there are too many time messers. We’re finding it’s a bit of a niche and seems to be going well so far. It is fast.”

Whilst Autobuy isn’t a purely benevolent service for motorists, Mooney acknowledges dealerships “need to find a margin”, especially with “150,000 imports from the UK each year.”

“Everyone started in this business buying and selling cars. A person who owns a car can tell you everything about it. I find this is why we get better cars.”

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